Salute to Service

In February we invited you to send us stories of the positive encounters or experiences you have with Harvest Land employees for our Salute to Service program. We asked you to share with us the instance of an employee going above and beyond, someone handling a difficult assignment with professionalism or an employee representing Harvest Land in an oustanding way.

We received 60 nominations from Harvest Land customers and employees nominating their peers. This was an amazing response to a simple ask! But it made our job difficult. We closed nominations in November and then asked our employee base to read through all nominations and choose their top three choices to win the 2018 Salute to Service Award.

At our cooperative Christmas party on December 8 the winner was announced. Today we want to share with you the winner:

John is a fuel driver out of our Greenville, Ohio location.

The winning submission:

“I was visiting my Grandma in early fall when John Bell arrived to fill her fuel tank. In her older age (she’s 88 and in poor health) Grandma is extremely paranoid about running out of fuel. She was so glad to see John pull down the farm lane. John topped off her tank, then came in to reassure her that he wouldn’t let her run out of fuel, ever. John could have left the ticket in the door and went about his business, but he stepped inside Grandma’s kitchen to check on her, ask her how she is feeling, then assure her fuel level was fine – even better now that he topped it off! As her granddaughter, I truly appreciate the time he took to deal with an 88-year-old lady who spends much of her day worrying. John was kind, reassuring and very pleasant. He represents Harvest Land so well and he made me proud to be associated with the cooperative.” Submitted by Lindsay Sankey

Below are five more nominations that were submitted on John’s behalf. In fact, not only did the above get the greatest number of votes, but John also had the most individual nominations!

“John Goes above and beyond for the company” Submitted by Doug Fark

“I’m writing to nominate John Bell (Greenville, OH Terminal) for your Salute to Service program. I’ve been with Trans Alliance, LLC in Greenville, OH for 6 years now, and for 5 of those years I’ve been handling the bulk fuel purchase and delivery. John looks out for our company like he is one of our employee’s. We receive fuel 3-4 times per week, but I feel it’s safe to say that John is probably here at least 5 days a week taking measurements to make sure we haven’t had an influx in fueling that could empty our tank. Numerous conversations have been had with John that he checked our tank the previous night, after everyone had left, never wanting us to run out. If he didn’t have the fuel on his truck that night, he’d make sure that we were the first stop the following morning. This means a lot to our company, me personally, and our drivers always know they’ll be able to fuel up at the yard. When John comes into our office to get a receipt signed, he says “Hello” to everyone,
and usually by name. Now I understand I deal with John on a daily basis, and it should be pretty easy to remember my name, but to say hello to the other 10 employees here at Trans Alliance by name is very impressive. As he leaves, a “See Ya/Have a good day” is said before he walks out the door. Reliability is a huge reason I feel John should be recognized for your program. As stated above, we always know they’ll be fuel in the tank. But I’ve called John on his cell many times with issues or questions, and he always answers when I call or returns the call ASAP! If we’ve got an issue with our tank or reader, he’s out there with tools in hand to try and fix it himself. Thanks to Harvest Land and John Bell for providing the quality fuel that keeps the trucks of Trans Alliance going down the road 365 days a year!” Submitted by Cory J. Griesdorn, TransAlliance

“I would like to submit the name of John Bell to receive an award for service beyond the call of duty. I believe he deserves the Salute to Service Award. Last winter, shortly after we had a new furnace installed, we woke up one morning with no heat. We called the furnace installation and they sent out a service man to check the furnace. He checked the furnace and could not find anything wrong. He checked our oil tank outside the house and said we were low on oil and the oil might be frozen and to call our oil delivery man. We called John Bell and he came out and checked our oil tank and found we were not low enough with oil to affect the furnace. He filled our tank but we still didn’t have any heat. He bled the oil line and we had heat after the house was really cold. He didn’t have to do this but he knew we needed heat. He stayed with us until we the house warm.” Submitted by Arthur Glover

“We nominate John Bell our Fuel Delivery Guy! John has shown his loyalty to Haves Land Coop by serving in a prompt manner whenever we call him for special delivery times it always seems like we are the next on his list or he is just around the corner. He has been pleasant and friendly. He has been very willing to iron out mistakes that we have produced and mistakes the Coop has produced. I hope your management team finds him in this manner also.” Submitted by David and Shari Harms

“I’d like to nominate John Bell as an employee to be commended on a job well done. John has serviced the property I live at for longer than I’ve owned it. Without a moment of hesitation, he remembered the property when I called him out of the blue to set up the first oil delivery. I find that remarkable given that he more than likely services hundreds of properties in the area. To date, John has consistently delivered within a few days of calling (as he always promises) and is very professional in his procedures. He offers advice when I ask questions and even offered to replace the oil tank gauges on my tanks for free. Again, John is an outstanding employee, please put him in for this wonderful ‘Salute to Service’ prize as he deserves to win every bit of it.” Submitted by Joshua Wilson

John pictured with Harvest Land President/CEO Scott Logue. John’s prize is $1,000 cash and two vacation days.

Congratulations to John!

We’re proud to have you represent our cooperative so well in the countryside.

We offer sincere thanks for all who nominated an employee for this program. reading through the submissions is one of the most gratifying things about working for your local farmer-owned cooperative.

Our Salute to Service program allows us to recognize the cream of the crop, top-notch quality people working behind the scenes of Harvest Land to ensure we’re meeting our customers’ needs every single day. Every so often we will highlight an employee that works diligently to serve our members.

Randal Reese is the Operations Manager, Crops Support and Feed Specialist at our Oakville Ag Center and has worked at Harvest Land for 40 years. That 4-0 is not a typo!

His main responsibilities include covering all areas of our Oakville branch, located just south of Muncie, west of IN-3. “All areas” includes scheduling custom application, invoicing customers and selling feed. He’s also served on our Safety Committee for 12 years.

Randal ensures customer fields are custom applied in a timely fashion and invoiced correctly. His organization and attention to detail greatly improves the customer experience for those who utilize our Oakville location.

Randal’s favorite part of his job with the co-op is working with good people.

Randal has been a participant of our Cultivating Communities program, and the organization he volunteers for is the First Brethren Church of Oakville. In his time outside work, Randal enjoys spending time with his beloved family.

Who wouldn’t want to spend time with these kiddos?

We recognize Randal because he was honored through our Salute to Service program, where he was nominated by four individuals for his outstanding customer service. In fact, he received the most nominations of any of our 300+ employees!

The nominations from customers are quite powerful. Take a look:

“I would like to nominate Randal Reese out of the Oakville location. In growing sod we have different needs for fertilizers, or time of applications. Since we are spreading on 800+ acres of turf we do most all our selves, with a tractor and cart on flotation/turf tires. Randal and I communicate almost weekly on what our needs will be the next week. I try and maximize the applications in conjunction with the next rain fall. By talking with Randal regularly he can maintain adequate inventory of our most used product 46-0-0. Over the years, since the decision of moving all bulk dry fertilizers to Mt Summit, it has presented some challenges to get the product and have delivered on time where we need it. (some of these acres get fertilized every 6-8 weeks) Randal and your delivery people have generally made it happen.” – Robert Sharpe, Ameri-Turf GMgr, Anderson, IN

“I would like to nominate Randal Reese, the Operations Manager at Oakville, Indiana. I am a math teacher and farm a little bit part time. I buy fertilizer, Kent Feeds, Ritchie Waterer Parts, and Seed from Oakville (none of it in large quantities). Randal always is professional, courteous, and cares (about people and his job). Even though I am a small time farmer, Randal makes me feel like he appreciates my business and me as a person. He keeps Oakville organized and running smoothly. I believe Randal has been at that location for over 40 years (previously Farmer’s Co-op Oakville). Anyway, I do not think you could have a better employee or upstanding member of the community. Whenever Mr. Reese retires from Oakville, he will be extremely difficult to replace. I think he should win the Salute to Service Award! – Jason Hunt

“Randal is very professional and goes out of his way to help with whatever I need. I am a small farmer, but you could never tell that by the way he treats me and conducts business. I wanted to drill a cover crop, but couldn’t with the equipment I had available. Within an hour Randal had everything ready for me and I was able to operate. Outstanding employee!” – Jesse Landess

I am writing about an employee (Randal Reese) that has worked above and beyond his jobs yearly. He is the voice at the Oakville office that answers when you call for any service. He’s always willing to do the extra job to answer your question. He is always an upbeat person no matter how hard a day he has had. When he retires Harvest Land will not find it easy to replace this star employee. My husband and I have farmed for 48 years and he has always been our guy to go to when we needed help.” – Tim and Carol Spangler

Randal with miss Lora McDaniel in the Delaware County 4-H Queen Contest where she was crowned second runner up.

Randal is a fantastic asset on our team and the nominations he received from customers are a testament to that. His work ethic and commitment to meet every customer need really make him stand out in our agronomy business.

Finally, we asked Randal what three words he would use to describe Harvest Land. His response:

Great Employee Group

Those of us who work with – and know – Randal would agree that he’s one big reason why our employee group is, in fact, great.

You can submit entries for our 2018 Salute to Service contest by emailing nominations@harvestlandcoop.com or contact our President/CEO, Scott Logue at 765.962.1527.

Harvest Land has a lot of quality people working behind the scenes to ensure we’re meeting our customers’ needs every single day. Every so often we will highlight an employee that works diligently to serve our members.

Michele is the Tax Accountant in our Richmond Administrative office and has worked at Harvest Land for five and a half years. Her main responsibilities include management of fuel margins, fixed assets, inventory, seed product entry and census reporting.

While he role doesn’t plant her at an ag center or in a fuel truck working face-to-face with our customers, Michele helps keep prices down for our members by watching the bottom line. Think spreadsheets. Lots and lots of spreadsheets.

Michele’s favorite part of her job with the co-op is resolving problems and assisting others.

What three words would she use to describe Harvest Land?

Forward thinking

Altruistic

Community

Michele is an active participant of our Cultivating Communities program, and the organization she volunteers for is Amigos, The Richmond Latino Center, Inc.. In her time outside work, Michele enjoys golf in the summer and swimming in the winter months.

Here, Michele is pictured with her daughters, Myra, left, and Bridget on the right. Any Twilight fans out there? An interesting note about this photo, told by Michele:They filmed the “Police Station” scenes from the Twilight movies at this Wauna Federal Credit Union building in Vernonia, Oregon. I grew up, Jr High and High School, in Vernonia and worked in this building when it was first built after graduating from high school in 1980. At the time it was Farmers & Merchants Bank. I recognized the inside of the building when watching the movie and from the scenery I could tell it was filmed in the Pacific Northwest. My daughters didn’t believe me at first but I had saved the newspaper article from the 1980’s when the bank opened, they agreed after seeing the pictures. I eventually confirmed with my sister, who still lives outside of Vernonia, that they had basically closed down the whole town, population 2500, when filming there for a week or so.

Michele was voted second place in our 2017 Salute to Service program, where she was nominated by Sam Andrews of Dot Transportation for her outstanding work. Check out what Sam had to say about her:

I have been with Dot Transportation in Cambridge City, IN since the day we started construction of our building and have had countless experiences I could share about the great employees at Harvest Land. From the days when Mike Munchel came out twice per week to fill 10 reefer trailers in the freezing cold to today where we purchase over $3 million worth of diesel annually. I do have one extra special story about an exceptional employee you have that I want to share. Her name is Michele Robinson. Michele called me one day a while back and shared that she thought we are paying a fuel tax from which we were exempt. I shared that information with our Dot Accounting group and they were positive she was wrong … but Michele was persistent and insistent. She and I exchanged several emails and finally she said “would it be OK if I talked to someone in your account department?” She worked with our accounting group to help them understand the exemption. She didn’t have to. There was nothing in it for her or for Harvest Land. She could have let it go when we said “we think you’re wrong”, but she didn’t. Her persistence saved Dot Transportation over $400,000 in current year and past year taxes and continues to save us money today. Michele had also shared with us that she thought we could go back to previous years and get a tax rebate. She was right…again. She worked with Dot’s accounting group and helped us get through the red tape. This was the largest money saving project in the company that year …. And it would never have happened without Michele giving me a call that day. What I have always found amazing is that there was no benefit to her. No benefit to Harvest Land. She did it out of her outstanding commitment to doing the right thing for the customer. Its because of folks like Michele that I wouldn’t even consider buying our diesel from any other supplier. Thanks Michele and thanks Harvest Land for being a great business partner.

Submitted by Sam Andrews, Dot Transportation

We very much enjoy having Michele as part of our team because of her compassion for others, her outstanding work ethic and persistence to do her job quite well.

Harvest Land has a lot of quality people working behind the scenes to ensure we’re meeting our customers’ needs every single day. Every so often we will highlight an employee that works diligently to serve our members.

Tammie is the Receptionist/Credit Assistant in our Richmond Administrative office and has worked at Harvest Land for eight years. If you’ve ever called this office and hung up thinking, “That was the nicest person I’ve ever talked to in customer service,” you probably talked to Tammie……more on that, below.

Her main responsibilities include answering phones, entering in customer payments and addressing commercial delinquents. Tammie assists with any questions members may have on billing, payment or new accounts. She then directs them to the appropriate place if she cannot answer their question.

Tammie’s favorite part of her job with the co-op is “getting to work with all the amazing people at Harvest Land and all of our members”.

What three words would she use to describe Harvest Land?

Knowledgeable

Courteous

Helpful

Tammie is an active participant of our Cultivating Communities program, and the organization she volunteers for is the American Legion Auxiliary where she runs the concession stand at the Richmond Fireworks. In her time outside work, Tammie enjoys bowling, throwing darts and spending time with family and friends whenever she can.

Tammie (left) and her family

Earlier this month Tammie was honored through our Salute to Service program where she was nominated by three individuals for her outstanding customer service. Check out what Harvest Land customers had to say about her:

“Tammie at your front desk is just about the nicest and most helpful person I think I’ve ever dealt with. Always happy, nice, jubilant and willing to help with any questions I’ve ever had about my account with Harvest Land. She is also very knowledgeable about her job and I think she deserves the nomination.” – Mike Adkins, Road Ready

“I am an oil customer of Harvest Land’s and had trouble with my bill. Tammie at the front desk was so pleasant to work with as we got the issue straightened out. She helped me understand how the invoicing works and made me feel much better about the situation. She sure helped me a lot and was very curtious. ” – Rita Gabbard

“In today’s world of automated phones, it is such a pleasure to talk with Tammie Fox each time I call. I have never met Tammie in person, but always recognize her friendly voice and wonderful laugh. I always hang up with not only all my questions answered, but also with a smile on my face. If Tammie has ever had a “bad” day at work, no customer would ever know because of the pleasant and professional way she answers the phone. In addition to all her required job skills, her phone skills are outstanding. I am sure that any highly stressed customer who calls also has a smile on their face when they hang up the phone. As it often does, one question may lead to more questions. Tammie has always been able not only to answer them all, but has never made me feel like my question were ever “dumb” (but I am sure many were). Being raised in the city is so different from the country. Tammie needs to be recognized for a job ALWAYS well done and her excellent communication and people skills. Tammie is truly an outstanding asset to Harvest Land. If anyone deserves a cash prize and 2 vacation days, Tammie Fox is the one!!!” – Rita Mitchell, Ossian, IN

Tammie is a fantastic asset on our team and the nominations she received from customers are a testament to that. Her work ethic and positive attitude make her an outstanding coworker in our Richmond office. Next time you call our Richmond office, be sure to say hello to Tammie!

In September we invited you to send us stories of the positive encounters or experiences you have with Harvest Land employees for our Salute to Service program. We asked you to share with us the instance of an employee going above and beyond, someone handling a difficult assignment with professionalism or an employee representing Harvest Land in an oustanding way.

Ask and you shall receive, indeed.

We received 78 nominations from Harvest Land customers and employees nominating their peers. This was an amazing response to a simple ask! But it sure made our job difficult. We closed nominations on November 8 and then asked our employee base to read through all nominations and choose their top three choices to win the 2017 Salute to Service Award.

At our cooperative Christmas party on December 1 the winner was announced. Today we want to share with you the winner:

The nomination, written and submitted by Harvest Land HR Manager, Luann Nichol:

Scott,

I know you challenged the employee group to tell you a story of a co-worker going above and beyond for a customer or of someone handling a difficult assignment or representing Harvest Land in a great way.

I would like to take a few minutes to talk about Kim Buttery. Kim is an employee going above and beyond to represent Harvest Land in a great way. Nearly one year ago, Kim was given the most devastating news any human being can be given. She was told she had cancer. I, having four older siblings that have battled cancer with one sibling losing his battle, understand the “mountain” Kim was going to have to climb and the battle she would be fighting over the next year and beyond.

Now a year later, Kim has completed her round of intense chemotherapy treatments and is finishing up her radiation treatments. Over the course of this past year, Kim has managed to utilize minimal sick time and vacation time. There were days Kim could have chosen to curl up in her blanket in bed and stay home and rightfully so. There were days she came in looking wary and tired, feeling sick, but she never complained or wanted anyone to feel sorry for her. She sat at her desk and worked diligently, answered phones, assisted customers and provided leadership for her team. Kim has been an inspiration to her family, her church family, her staff, her co-workers not only in Richmond but within all of Harvest Land’s business divisions and anyone in the community who knows her.

As the H.R. Manager at Harvest Land, Kim is the definition of a dedicated employee with a work ethic like none other. Kim cares about her staff, her fellow co-workers and the member customers of Harvest Land. Kim continues to battle this disease with dignity, grace and courage. The road ahead is still long and Kim knows that but just as she has over this last year, she will continue to trek ahead one step at a time until she is over that mountain. May God continue to bless Kim and her family as he has over this last year. He has certainly blessed Harvest Land and its members with Kim’s presence over the last forty one years. Thank you.

Luann Nichol

H.R. Manager

Kim received greater than 37% of the total votes from our employees.

Congratulations, Kim!

We’re proud to call you a colleague and friend to many.

Thank you for every single person (all 78 of you!) who contributed to this contest. The entries absolutely impressed us and frankly, made us quite proud to work at Harvest Land.

So much good came from one simple request for a story.

In the months ahead, we’ll be highlighting the other outstanding submissions from customers and employees in an effort to give you a better look at the people behind your local farmer-owned cooperative.

With more than fifty locations, it can be difficult to hear about all the great things happening within our cooperative, thanks in large part to our team of dedicated employees. As of late, we’ve had several members contact us regarding outstanding customer service from Harvest Land employees.

We appreciate this candid feedback from our members, and we want to keep it going.

We’d like to invite you to participate in our Salute to Service program, which will recognize employees for a job well done.

You can participate by sending us stories of the positive encounters or experiences you have with Harvest Land employees.

Share with us the instance of an employee going above and beyond, someone handling a difficult assignment with professionalism or an employee representing Harvest Land in an oustanding way.

We invite you to tell us

why an employee deserves to be

commended on a job well done.

In late fall, we’ll present the top Salute to Service entries to our employee base and ask them to vote for the best example of a Harvest Land employee exceeding expectations. The winner – as chosen by their peers – will be rewarded with a $1,000 cash prize and 2 vacation days. For the person that submits the winning entry? Well, they’ll walk away with $250.

Keep a watchful eye this harvest season as the weather cools and don’t hesitate to contact us with your story/stories for Salute to Service.